Arkajo - Fathomless Music

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  • Whatever's going on at Aniara HQ—is founder Fabian Bruhn hooked on energy drinks?—has made a great label even better. After building its reputation on pads, pianos and haze, the Swedish label has turned to more direct sounds. Ditching smoke machine fog for strobe lights, it spent the past two years putting out dance floor killers from in-house artists Henrik Bergqvist, Arkajo and Genius Of Time. Arkajo (one half of Genius Of Time) returns with Fathomless Music, another set of lean club weapons and Aniara's 20th release. The Aniara haze that cloaks most of its releases also hovers here, but the drums are mean and the basslines are fat, making for three snappy tunes with plenty of flair. An acid line makes it into "Fathomless Music," the EP's best track. The hi-hats tick as a 303 comes and goes, eventually joined by a monotone Phuture-style vocal. Perky hand drums dance about the grid, giving an otherwise machine-driven track a tribal touch. "Tape 7" and "Groove Ett" are deeper, built around driving grooves and heaving low-ends. With its yawning tones and thick atmosphere, there's a hint of the Romanian sound in "Groove Ett"—until the cymbal and diva vocal come crashing in. Like many releases before it, Fathomless Music reminds us of Aniara's place among modern house music's essential labels. Few manage to remain high quality after ten records, let alone 20.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Fathomless Music B1 Tape 7 B2 Groove Ett
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